Re: Upgrade from Duke 390


That is of course a given. But for anyone looking for a comfortable, powerful and hassel free tourer (and in the right hands a good city bike) this bike is just the definition of VFM. At least I (a fan of cruisers) would go for this if I couldn't get a proper cruiser for touring. That is to say it would be my second choice after cruiser bikes.

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390


The root causes for all vibes on the duke are as follows:
1) tank cap- the whole unit is shitty best remedy is to replace with RC tank cap.
2) radiator cover- its a three piece set made of plastic and the largest of the three pieces is prone to morphing coz of the heat and thus it comes loose from the other two pieces.
3) the front mudguard- it is loosely held and it will vibrate whether you like it or not so ignore.
4) meter console shroud and headlight cowl- on a bike that vibrates at all rpms its no surprise. Tightening the screws and bolts will solve your problem.

Other than that the chain guard makes a thud sound when the chain bounces up while exiting a pothole or climbing over a speed breaker at speed. No remedy for it so just ignore.
The wind blast issue just requires a good helmet and jacket yo solve. I no longer have a problem since I got an ls2 helmet and can climb to speeds of 130-145kmph without feeling the wind pushing me back. Which should suffice for touring. If not one could mod a windshield for the bike, its a relatively easy diy from what I'm told.
And if you still find the bike problematic, wait for the Yamaha r25 and bennelli bikes just as I'm waiting.
Hope this helps.

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390


If you're going with finance get the 650. It will be worth it (and also worth the money which n300 is not).

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

Delete

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

Well I have decided to go with N300.
I don't see any need to have 650CC bike.. Atleast not as of now.
Cost less and looks more appealing to me.
Hopefully new models have no previous issues.
I will be buying by Jan end.. So if anything new comes by then, i will give it a thought. Else N300 is almost done.




Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

Enjoy your ride. Pls check availability of spares before you buy the bike. Although you might know this but n300 doesn't have abs.

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

Good choice and welcome to the club. Please contribute in the Ninja 300 ownership experience thread.

Trust me unless you have a major accident spares is not an issue.

It is the bike that will give you the kind of ownership experience you desire.

She is at home in city and on highways. Very rare breed of bikes..

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

Hey faiz. How about Kawasaki ER-6N
It's cheaper than N650 and it does not give a huge bike feeling.

However, underpinnings are exactly same as N650. Check it out too, if possible. [emoji2]

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

What would be the issues that you were facing on 390?

Sent from my GT-N7100 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

Faiz Bhai - Hope you doing well.

Well the bikers itch to upgrade never subsides isn't it? But are you sure to call N300 an upgrade over D390 - I would say think again.

D390 has higher cc,higher power, better accln. , better handling (naked), better grip (read tires) and better control (read ABS) .
Ninja has better build quality and lesser niggles , smoother engine(twin cylinders), bigger tank-range, full fairing , slipper clutch (if it matters) and slightly higher top-speed (equal to Rc390 owing to full fairing) .
Actually both are good in their respective places just the Indian equation of price changes things.

But having said that no bike in this world is perfect - we choose what suits us best. Grass always seems greener on the other side.

Ninja is costlier to buy and Spare parts are also costlier since they come from abroad whereas many parts of KTM are India made.

Ask yourself - Are you ready to face the ordeal of selling your D390 for a lesser price and then buying N300 .

If I were you I would do one of the 2 things in particular order:
1) Sort out niggles - they are pretty trivial and I am sure a good service can cure all of this . If you were in Bangalore I would have suggested some places .
2) Look at er-6n or Ninja 650 - amazing VFM bikes if you are sure to upgrade


Best of luck.

Regards,
Sanjoy (D390 owner)

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

In this case grass is actually green on the other side. (From a ninja 300 owner). Cost of service is around 12000 for a year. To give you an example of quality, the chain does not slack even 1 mm when adjusted during service. Until next service that is 5000 kms, the chain stays like that. Similarly other components function the way they should throughout their life. All these things together do help in providing a niggle free ride.

In terms of power it may not be an upgrade, but in terms of peace of mind and niggle free ownership it definitely is.
And yes, I too had owned a duke before and coming to ninja is sort of bliss.

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390


Sanjoy, I have no issues in keeping duke for an year or so, but I can not keep running to the service centre every couple of weeks.
I am a very frustrated with the kind of response I am getting from the service centre's in delhi.
It took them almost 2 months to resolve my tank cap vibration issue, had to change the cap twice.
Then I feel foot peg vibration, body vibration, bike is sluggish, if you are riding at a constant speed, it will feel like the bike is lagging.
Mileage has gone down considerably. I am very sane rider, while riding i prefer keeping the bike between 80-90kmph in the city.
All I get in response them is its a heavy engine and light bike, vibration to hogi hi.
It's been 6 months since I bought this bike and I must have gone to svc no less than 15 times for one issue or another.

Reasons for opting N300 instead of N650 or ER6N:-
1) My daily commute from office and home is around 70km, I will prefer something which I don't find tough to navigate through in traffic.
2) Since I am opting for finance, loan amount would be considerably less.
3) Looks wise I prefer N300.

Now you tell me, What option do I have?

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

@faiz0210

How about Honda 650f. Its going to launch around Feb 1st week i guess. And it will fall in your price bracket of 5-6 lakh also. Its also an inline4

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

Faiz sorry to hear about the issues .
From what I understand your issue is service centre and even if you buy N300 you will have to go to the same people but off-course N300 needs lesser visits to service centre so think wisely.
I am guessing these issues cropped up in due course of time and were not present in the bike when you bought it.

Since I ride the same bike for some trips and sometimes city commuting and have yet not found any issues yet (touch-wood).
I covered 11k in a year without a fuss since I have multiple rides, I don't baby it but tighten and lube the chain myself every 1k km .
Eventough I am a defensive rider in city, I ride Duke like a duker on highways.

Coming back to you, if you have really given up on D390 you can go for N300 straightaway or wait till Mar-Apr for many new releases from Benelli , Honda and may be Yamaha etc.

Re: Upgrade from Duke 390

Talking about duke: chain wash and lubing every couple of week. I don't baby the bike either, ocassional high speed burst on expressway.
Roads are freaking good and still so many problems.
If all the issues gets sorted out, i might stick with duke for a few more months but i highly doubt there is any chance of that. Btw I have already completed 9k in 6 months.

If not i think N300 is my go to bike.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk